How to become "Anti-Fragile"

Leveling up during crisis

Author

Jo Yang
June 30, 2024

2024 challenges us!

Hence the importance of adopting the right posture to, as I like to say, "find your flow in the chaos"!

When I talk about crisis, I'm not just referring to the context we're in (the outside world), but also to internal crises: existential, self-questioning, career, business...

After suggesting a number of resources to help you rise above uncertain times, here's how to become "anti-fragile", a posture far more powerful than resilience, which enables you to get through crises with lightness and fluidity, and adapt in all circumstances to emerge stronger:

🎍 Becoming Anti-Fragile

Anti-fragility, a term popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, describes systems that don't just withstand shocks, but emerge strengthened.

Unlike resilience, which consists in returning to one's initial state after a disruption, anti-fragility enables us to improve through challenges.

Here's how to adopt this posture:

Flow in Chaos: Fluidity and Adaptability

The Flowtasking philosophy I've developed enables you to navigate your life and career with fluidity and less resistance. In fact, I drew a great deal of inspiration from the concept of "Flow" and Anti-Fragile.

It starts with :

  1. Adopt Lightness:

    • Simplify your life: Eliminate the superfluous and focus on the essential. By lightening your responsibilities and your load (physical and mental), you free up energy for what really matters.

    • Cultivate mental flexibility: Be open to change and ready to question your certainties and beliefs. Lightness also comes from the ability to let go of what you can't control and adapt to new situations and changes.

    • Focus on your priorities: Your resources are precious (time, energy, money), and sometimes even scarcer in times of crisis. Get and stay clear on your priorities!

  1. Smooth sailing :

  1. Active/Passive Balance: Alternate between phases of intense action and rest. This allows you to maintain a high level of energy and creativity without burning out. Recovery and reflection time are just as important as execution phases.

  2. Surf the ups and downs: Accept the "cycles and seasons" by making decisions that put you more in a fluid posture than in resistance. Don't try to swim against the current.

  3. Listen to your intuition and inner voice: Fluidity means following your intuition and trusting your feelings. Trust yourself! You know what's right for you, and every decision will be a good one if you really listen to yourself.

  1. Knowing how to adapt :

  1. Embrace uncertainty: Instead of dreading the unknown, see it as an opportunity for growth. Uncertainty is the playground of anti-fragility. Reinvent yourself, try new things, move forward!

  2. Develop new skills: Be proactive in continuous learning. Every new skill makes you more adaptable and able to deal with the unexpected.

  3. Be curious: The best answer to fear of the future, anxiety and uncertainty is curiosity. Don't forget to trust: in yourself and in life!

Becoming Anti-Fragile in practice

So what can you do to adopt these concepts?

  • Have very, very solid foundations (anchors): Be clear about your vision, your value system, your mission, have high self-esteem and great confidence. These are the roots that will see you through the storm. You can lose feathers, but you can't lose yourself... Continue to cultivate these foundations, and if you lack clarity, take a step back to adjust and reconnect with them.

  • Diversify your activities: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your sources of income, your professional activities and your personal interests. This diversification gives you options and reduces risks, while providing you with several playgrounds and sources of esteem, confidence and creativity. BUT :

  • Stay focused on your strengths: have very solid pillars and foundations over which you have a great deal of control! Diversifying doesn't mean spreading yourself too thin, it means building on an already solid base. As an example, I'm focused on my business, even though I have other sources of income, but I spend 80% of my time on the business and continue to build on it. I stay focused on what I'm good at!

  • Learn to love challenges: See every crisis as an opportunity to grow. Change your perspective on obstacles and see them as opportunities to strengthen your anti-fragility. Ask yourself, "How can this situation/challenge be an opportunity?"

  • Create a support network: Surround yourself with people who share your values and can support you in times of crisis. Surroundings and environment make all the difference!

  • Invest in your well-being: Take care of your physical, mental and emotional health. A healthy body and mind are essential to sailing smoothly and lightly. You are your own best asset! It's precisely during difficult times that you need to take time for yourself and recharge!

Becoming anti-fragile doesn't just mean surviving crises, but emerging from them stronger and wiser.

By adopting the mindset and decisions I've shared with you, you can turn challenges into opportunities and navigate through life with greater confidence and serenity.

Quite honestly, I spent years stressing about the future, dealing with problems with a heavy heart and sometimes fear, and then I realized just how much we know how to cope and how well we can manage it by being more serene!

We lose, we win, but we keep on playing!